Hi Bart!
First things first: All dogs, regardless of size, need rules. Have you checked Ed's groundwork for puppies?
http://www.leerburg.com/ebooks/puppygroundwork.pdf
Secondly, I don't think that small dogs are harder to train on a basic level. But they often have more behavioral problems when they come to me because the groundwork hasn't been done, and they get away with A LOT more than a big dog would, and often owners think little dogs don't need training. They can be dominant little buggers, for sure! But again, a lot of that is people accidentally rewarding that: Sleeping on the pillow next to them, picking them up, petting them to "reassure" them when they got upset, not correcting them because 'they're too little' etc.
You *can* correct a pup for breaking pack rules. Biting, food aggression to the pack leader, etc., are things that would not be tolerated by a mother. Scruffing (NOT shaking the hell out of them!) or picking them up a few inches by their cheeks and staring at them and telling them to stop or knock it off are examples of appropriate corrections for tough-guy pups. I'll also give them a quick poke with my thumb and fingers if I have to. Again, this is a correction and not a punishment, so it shouldn't be painful to the dog.
Something that jumped out at me though...if you hold a dog back by physically restraining them (as you said you do at feeding time) you actually INCREASE their drive to go forward. You should not need TWO people to feed a Pomeranian puppy, or any dog for that matter.
Pick whichever one of you is likely to be the most firm with the pup, and have that person feed the dog. After things get under control, the other person can see how it's done and give it a go. Two people doing two different things can really slow training.
Leash corrections *can* be used on small dogs...Ed even sells a small dog prong collar for small dogs:
http://www.leerburg.com/prong.htm#micro
Little dogs are like big dogs---the same correction will not work for the same dog, even if same breed/size/age, etc.
About your walking issue--
Here's a quote from Ed taken from this article:
http://www.leerburg.com/prong.htm
The first people I usually recommend for the prong collars have 3 to 4 month old pups that pull them down the street when they take them for a walk. These dogs need a prong. There is no correction needed from the handler when a prong is worn during walks. The pup (or dog) gives itself a correction when he hits the end of the leash.
I would also add that sometimes with little or high energy dogs, it helps to speed up the walk a little at first.
So while you generally wouldn't use a prong on a pup, on certain dogs...it really helps. Notice that the pup corrects himself with the prong on walks. It is important to remember that you would NOT correct a pup for obedience related things, or regular puppy biting. Aside from pack issues, a dog should never be corrected for not following a command that he doesn't fully understand (and that pretty much means 3 1/2 month old pups!) If you can redirect, do that first. Once you see how well a prong works, you may be tempted to use it for every minor infraction---Don't! It'll damage your bond with your pup.
Remember to be consistant, have good timing, and be fair. Before resorting to the prong corrections:
1.) Establish groundrules and ENFORCE them
2.) Make sure it's not just 'puppy' behavior
3.) Add more exercise. Little dogs often have underestimated energy requirements--Play a game where you have two balls. Throw one and as the pup reaches that one, throw the other one in the opposite direction and while he's running for that one, go get the first one and throw it. Repeat. Remember to let your pup rest when he needs to.
4.) Double and triple check your methods of dealing with these issues. If you're not administering the corrections appropriately or fairly, NO tool is going to help, and they might hurt.
Sometimes when we take him out to eliminate he will be absolutely bonkers. (He looks like
Yoda in Attack of the Clones)
* I'm not sure what to do about this. I don't know if it is just a puppy thing (a really funny looking one), or if it is a sign of problems to come.
Not sure what you mean by 'bonkers.' I get that he jumps and acts nuts, but does he try to nip (or hit you with a light saber?
) If he's just being jumpy and hyper---he's signalling that he wants to PLAY! He wants more stimulation and exercise! IMO, anyway.
The thing about Bear is that he doesn't respond to a small or medium leash correction at all. To even get him to be fazed by a correction, you have to pull hard enough that his front feet come off the ground and land in a different spot all together. I just wonder if we should be giving these kinds of corrections to such a young dog, or if there is something else that we should be doing that would be more effective.
If you have to correct him by yanking him off of his feet by his neck, then a prong would be better by far than this. You could damage your dog's neck by doing what you're doing. A prong collar will not do this.
But first, are you sure he needs a correction? Are you sure he's not just being a pup? Are you sure you're giving the correction properly...in other words, a quick strong snap/pop, NOT a tug or lift?
A prong on a young dog is something I would personally recommend only when the dog is really hard and ONLY when used judiciously. And ABSOLUTELY make sure you 100% know how to use them.
The reason they are not recommmended (in general) for young dogs is because puppies do not usually need that strong of a correction, and they don't usually have the maturity to understand the kind of a correction that can be given with them with inexperienced handlers. Again, MAKE SURE you're not trying to correct this pup for being a pup. You have the rest of the dog's adult life to use a prong.
Good luck.
EDITED TO ADD: Holy cow! No one had responded when I was writing this!
Carbon